


Study Break Shenanigans

by smallsleepybean



Category: Free!
Genre: Bubble Bath, Cute, Fluff, Happy, Love Confessions, M/M, gay as shit, gay cuddles, smooches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-13 03:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2134581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallsleepybean/pseuds/smallsleepybean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taken place during their first year of high school, Rei and Nagisa confess their feelings to each other...during a bubble bath?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Study Break Shenanigans

“C’mon Rei-chan! The water’s ready!” 

Rei Ryugazaki sighed as he heard the sweet voice calling from the other room. Setting down his pencil as he bookmarked the page he was copying notes from, the first year raised his arms above his head and stretched, his back cracking before he rubbed his sore shoulders.

Due to the ever impending final exams, Rei had been studying nonstop for the past two weeks. Nagisa - ever the procrastinator - had come to Rei begging for help with this studies and notes, and before they knew it they found themselves studying together at Rei’s home after school.

Rei folded his notebook closed before standing up from the floor, his legs tingling painfully from the lack of blood flow. Smiling, he looked across the small floor table where Nagisa’s untouched bag lay - while he had come over with the intent of studying, the energetic blonde had mostly just chattered away, resorting to watching Rei take notes when he realized how focused his classmate was on his notes.

Rei felt a slight blush creep onto his cheeks as he left his room, recalling a statement Nagisa had made when he had questioned why he watched him study rather than getting his own assignments done.

“Because I like watching you, Rei-chan.” Nagisa had said, spinning a mechanical pencil between his fingers. 

Rei’s hand halted in writing mid sentence, looking up in confusion at his classmate’s words.

“Watching me? What could possibly be entertaining in that?” he asked, staring in disbelief at the grinning boy in front of him.

Nagisa placed one of his fingers on his lips, closing his eyes at if he were focusing on the right words to say.

“Hmm...how do I put it...it’s just that...oh!” his eyes flew open as he pointed upwards, his eyes bright as he looked enthusiastically at Rei.

“I think it’s the way you move while you study - the way your eyes focus on each word, how you mumble each sentence under your breath, the way you write your kanji out in smooth, even lines across each page - the way you move is captivating, Rei-chan. It’s beautiful!” Nagisa said, leaning his elbows on the low table as he placed his chin in his hands.

The then flustered Rei was unable to meet his gaze as he stuttered over receiving such a compliment. He had adjusted and readjusted his glasses countless times in an attempt to hide his tomato red face.

The two had sat in silence for the next half hour, Rei’s hand trembling as he stole quick glances at Nagisa over the top of his glasses to see if he was still watching him. And every time he checked, he was.

Feeling that same blush coming back to him, Rei tried to shake the sudden feeling forming in the center of his chest as he placed his hand on the doorknob to his bathroom. It was a feeling that had been occurring more and more often recently whenever he felt his thoughts wandering about Nagisa. 

_No._ he thought harshly, trying to calm his racing heart,

Love was illogical. For him to love someone like Nagisa-kun…

Preposterous.

He gripped the cool bronze handle tightly before opening the door, immediately greeted by a sight that had him nearly jump out of his own skin.

“Hiiii Rei-chan!” Nagisa giggled, waving at him from a mountain of pink bubbles. His school uniform and boxers discarded haphazardly onto the floor, meaning he was stark naked in the small bathtub.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE TUB?!” Rei shrieked, blushing and shutting his eyes tightly as he waved his arms frantically in the doorway. 

“Huuuuh? What’s the big deal, Rei-chan?” Nagisa said, folding his arms on the edge of the bathtub and resting his head on them. “Why are you so embarrassed? We do swim together, so I thought this would be fine-”

“You said you were drawing a bath for me but you didn’t say anything about joining in.” he said, his eyes coming to rest on a pair of chibi penguin covered boxers on the floor. He could practically feel his blood pressure rising.

Nagisa’s high pitched laughter filled his ears.

“Well, while I was drawing the bath for you I realized I smelled kinda funny too, and I thought, ‘Hey, it could be really fun to bathe with Rei-chan!’ So before I knew it, I was already sitting in the tub and-”

“ _Children_ bathe together, and there are _bathhouses_ and _hot springs_ for this, not my three by six foot tub.” Rei said exasperatedly, rubbing his temples in frustration and embarrassment at Nagisa’s actions. 

“Aww...so you don’t want to bathe with me Rei-chan? Is it me?” Nagisa said, adjusting himself so that he was back in the center of the large mass of bubbles. He looked up at Rei with large, sad eyes that made him begin to regret his words.

“I just thought you’d be okay with it...y’know...there’s no need to be weird or anything…” Nagisa’s usually chipper tone seemed genuinely hurt as he scooped a few stray bubbles into his palm and blew them away unenthusiastically. 

Rei’s heart slowed as a heavy feeling came over him. He definitely didn’t want to hurt Nagisa’s feelings - but he also didn’t feel right about bathing with someone he may have feelings for. 

Before he could think better of it, he found himself loosening his school tie and unbuttoning the front of his shirt. Nagisa perked up when he saw Rei folding his shirt, tucking the tie into the breast pocket as he laid them both on the sink counter. Rei hesitated at his belt buckle, suddenly feeling unnecessarily sheepish.

“Uhm, do you mind, Nagisa-kun?” his voice quiet as he felt extremely vulnerable under the boy’s unwavering stare.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, Rei-chan! If you’re shy, I’ll look away~” Nagisa said, his eyes staring up at the ceiling as Rei continued to undo his belt and pants, folding them as he felt extremely embarrassed standing there in his tighty whiteys.

_It’s not beautiful...why couldn’t I have worn better underwear-_

_Wait, WHY DO I EVEN CARE?!_ Rei screamed in his head, desperately wanting to punch himself in the face.

“Uhm, Nagisa-kun, could you please close your eyes until I get in the bath?” he asked, feeling ridiculous. 

“Mhm, anything for you, Rei-chan.” Magisa said, closing his eyes obediently as Rei stripped off his underwear.

“Although,” he said so quietly, Rei had to strain to hear it as he was stepping into the tub. “Rei-chan has such a good body, I don’t know why he would feel so embarrassed~”

Rei froze in shock, unsure if he actually heard those words or if he had imagined them. Cheeks blazing, he finally sat decided to just sit down in the tub. He pulled his legs up to his chest so that there was more room between them when Nagisa opened his eyes,

“See, Rei-chan?” Nagisa said. Rei’s heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest.

“It’s not that bad- ah!” he gasped suddenly, startling the already jumpy Rei in front of him.

“What’s wro-”

“Rei-chan, you forgot about your glasses! They’re going to get foggy and wet aren’t they? Here…” Nagisa leaned forward, closing the distance between them as he grabbed the sides of Rei’s glasses. As he slid them off, Rei could feel the faintness of Nagisa’s breath on his face, causing him to stiffen as a foreign unease went through him.

Rei’s breathing felt shallow as he opened his eyes. Though everything was slightly blurry, he could still see Nagisa in front of him with his red glasses folded in his palm.

“Hmm, well I shouldn’t leave them here, I guess I’ll just put them on the counter then!” he said happily.

Before Rei could open his mouth, Nagisa stood up in the tub. Completely naked, he quickly stepped out of the tub to place Rei’s glasses delicately on the pile of folded clothes Rei had left on the edge of the counter.

Even without his glasses, Rei could see the pink bubbles that clung to Nagisa’s legs and torso, droplets of water dripping to the floor from his legs and arms. Rei tried his best to keep from staring at Nagisa’s bare behind, and found himself suddenly fascinated by the foamy bubbles in front of him. 

Staring intently at them as he spread them around with his hands, he didn’t dare look up until he felt Nagisa get back into the water with him.

“Okay, they’re safe!” Nagisa said, flashing a toothy grin at Rei. His heart seemed to falter, his hands suddenly itching to cup the smaller boy’s face. His cheeks were a cute pink do to the heat of the bathwater, a few ringlets of his curly blonde hair fell into his eyes, ever the soft violet color that Rei oddly found fascinating.

A small bit of soap rested on his nose, but he didn’t seem to notice it at all - he just kept chattering away and smiling, carrying on as usual as if he were happy just to have Rei in his presence. 

_He’s just so cute!_ he found himself thinking, watching as Nagisa added more soap to the water.

After shampooing and conditioning their hair, they simply laid in the soothing water. The warmth did wonders on Rei’s usually stiff shoulders, caused by days of being hunched over a desk studying. 

He found himself slowly lowering down farther into the bath, unfolding his legs and sighing, feeling relaxed, even with Nagisa so close to him. Suddenly, he felt a tickling sensation on his face. Opening his eyes, he found his sight impaired by bubbles on his face.

“What the-”

“Nooo Rei-chan! Don’t move, I have to finish!” Nagisa said seriously, scooping more bubbles into his hands and resting them around Rei’s jaw.

“What’re you doing exactly, Nagisa-kun?” Rei asked, feeling vulnerable having uncrossed his legs and having Nagisa so close to him. 

“I’m giving you a bubble beard, du-uh.” he replied.

“Ah! There, perfect, Rei-chan!” Nagisa exclaimed, pushing himself back and giggling at Rei’s new appearance. 

Rei furrowed his eyebrow at Nagisa’s laughter, curious as to how a bubble beard could be so amusing to someone his age. 

Unable to stand it, he stretched out of the bathtub carefully, reaching around the top of the counter until he held a small mirror in his hands. He held the mirror in front of him, focusing his eyes until he could make out his reflection.

He let out a loud sound of distress at the sight - completely decked out with a bubble beard and mustache, he looked incredibly ridiculous. Nagisa started to laugh harder, clutching his stomach and slapping the edge of the tub at Rei’s reaction.

“NAGISA-KUN HOW COULD YOU?!” he said, grabbing Nagisa’s shoulders as he shook with laughter.

“Re-rei-chan, you look so silly!” he choked out between fits of giggles, water splashing over the edge of the tub as Rei shook him.

_Silly…_ Rei’s faced heated with embarrassment. 

Never once in his life had someone told him he acted or looked silly, and he made sure to always conduct himself in the civilist of manners. He felt his grip on Nagisa’s shoulders release as he slowly sank down farther down into the tub, washing the bubbles off his face as he did so.

_So embarrassing…someone my age shouldn’t be acting so ridiculously, honestly…_

“Eh? Rei-chan? What is it?” Nagisa asked, finally having gotten all of the fits of laughter out of his system when Rei had slowly risen his head back above the surface of the tub.

“Rei-chan? Are you okay? Why do you seem so down all of a sudden?” Nagisa asked more concerned this time as Rei averted his gaze. 

He mumbled something under his breath that Nagisa couldn’t quite hear.

“Come again?” He asked, cupping his hand to his ear.

“I said,” Rei began, a little louder than before. “I don’t like you seeing me like this, as silly.It’s...embarrassing…”

“Ehhh?” Nagisa said, confused. 

“Why would that matter at all-”

“It matters because,” Rei paused, unsure if he should continue or not. 

He glanced up to see Nagisa staring determined at him, waiting for his answer with his hands balled into tight fists held to his chest.

“Because...I want the person that I like to see me as someone cool…” he barely managed to squeak out the last bit, nervousness wracking him as he realized he could very possibly end up getting rejected.

To top it off, he’d also be naked and within arms length while he did so.

He was stunned when Nagisa let out a loud sound of relief.

“Ahh, thank goodness! I thought you were mad at me!” Nagisa said, running his hand through his hair before smiling at Rei again.

“Don’t scare me like that, ‘kay?”

“But, Nagisa-kun, what I said-”

“Do you really like me, Rei-chan?” Nagisa asked, cutting Rei off mid sentence. His smile faded into a much more serious expression - something that was a rare sight to be found on Nagisa’s face. 

Slightly frightened, Rei simply nodded. Nagisa’s smile returned to his face.

“Then, everything’s okay. Because…” he moved closer so quickly, Rei didn’t have time to protest as Nagisa hovered his lips just centimeters away from his own.

“It just so happens...I like you, Rei-chan.” he breathed. 

Rei’s heart felt as if it were slamming against his ribs at Nagisa’s confession. Unable to stand it, he closed the distance between them and kissed him. 

Rei had never kissed anyone before in his life, yet something inside of him instructed him to gently bring his hands to Nagisa’s chin as he opened his mouth slightly. Wrapping his arms around Rei’s neck, Nagisa pulled himself against him, savoring the taste and the softness of Rei’s lips as he was kissed passionately. 

When they finally broke apart, Rei held Nagisa against his chest, his breath in the smaller boy’s ear as he ran his fingers soothingly through his wet blonde curls. Nagisa tightened himself against Rei’s hard chest - while he was also in really good shape himself, he had always been more on the lean side rather than the muscular one.

He smiled, burying his head in the crook of Rei’s neck. He was so relieved that Rei actually liked him, being that he was worried his continuous teasing and flirting may have had a negative effect on his much more serious classmate. He breathed in the scent of the soap, his hands had begun to feel pruny after being in the now lukewarm water for so long.

And yet...he wanted to be held like this forever. Rei’s strong arms encircling him, the shivers that went down his spine as Rei played with his hair. 

It was bliss. 

And he didn’t want it to end.

When a few moments had passed and the water had begun to feel cold, Nagisa removed himself from Rei’s hold. Desperate to still touch him in some way, he ran his fingers down Rei’s arms before standing up and stepping out of the tub.

Removing two towels from the cabinet underneath the sink, he wrapped one around his waist before handing the other to Rei. He took it thankfully, stepping out of the tub and drying himself off before wrapping it around his waist as well. 

Nagisa picked up his clothing from the floor as Rei began draining the tub.

“Should we...uh,” Rei began, unsure of what to do now that it was obvious that he and Nagisa were both interested in being more than friends.

“Should we just head back into my room?” a small blush stained his cheeks as he realized how bad that sounded, yet Nagisa just nodded happily before opening the door to the bathroom.

“After you, Rei-chan.” he said, holding his hand out in front of him.

Rei quickly walked through the doorway and back into his room, Nagisa trailing behind him. 

Nagisa pulled back on his penguin boxers before tossing his clothing next to his bag. While Rei rummaged in one of his drawers for underwear and pants, Nagisa flopped himself down onto Rei’s bed.

Rolling over, he pressed his blonde head into one of the neatly placed pillows, breathing in Rei’s scent as he waited for him to get dressed. The smaller boy nearly felt himself dozing off until he felt the edge of the bed dip slightly under Rei’s weight. 

His heartbeat fluttered as he felt Rei crawl up next to him, putting one of his arms across Nagisa’s body so that he could place his hand on the smaller boy’s chest. Snuggling himself closer into Rei, Nagisa felt him bury his face in his blonde curls, his hand rubbing soothing circles into his chest as he laid his other arm above Nagisa’s head.

Nagisa sighed, placing his left hand over Rei’s. Eyelids drooping, he felt completely relaxed in Rei’s arms. Rei shifted so that he could place a small peck on Nagisa’s cheek. Practically swooning, he kissed him back on the lips, running his tongue along Rei’s bottom lip. Rei responded by lightly nipping Nagisa’s upper lip.

Nagisa broke into a fit of giggles at the action.

“Wh-what!?” Rei asked, blushing a deep red at Nagisa’s laughter. 

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing, Rei-chan,” Nagisa said, taking Rei’s warm face in his hands. “I’m just, really happy is all.”

Pressing their foreheads together, they both closed their eyes. Rei listened to the sound of Nagisa’s breathing, and Nagisa felt the drumming pulse of Rei’s heart beneath his fingertips. 

Slowly opening his eyes, Rei lifted his head until his lips met Nagisa’s once more. He kissed his cheeks, nose, eyelids, forehead - until finally wrapped his arms around Nagisa’s shoulders to embrace the smaller boy into a tight hug. He felt Nagisa’s arms wrap themselves around his waist as he pressed their bodies together.

“Nagisa-kun?” he whispered, receiving a murmur in response. 

“I really do like you, Nagisa-kun.”

He waited for another response, but only heard soft breathing. Chuckling, he kissed the top of the sleeping boy’s head, feeling his own thoughts become fuzzy as sleep overtook him as well. 

* * *

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” Rei’s shrill yell echoed throughout the hallway, Nagisa’s laughter - much like always, it seemed - accompanying it.

“HOW COULD YOU DO BETTER ON YOUR FINAL EXAMS THAN ME, AND BY ONE POINT!?”

“I-I’m sorry Rei-chan.” Nagisa said, gasping for breath as he held his sides from laughing too hard. 

“Really, I-I am, pfft-”

“IT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE IT TO ME!”

Standing in front of the final exam test results placed in the hallway, Rei nearly died of disbelief to see Nagisa’s name above his own. He had checked and double checked several times, squinting, and even shaking his head in utter disbelief - that is, until Nagisa had come up beside him and started laughing up a storm.

“I can’t believe it...and after all my hard work…” Rei buried his face in his hands.

“Ehhh, Rei-chan, hey-” Nagisa said, stopping his laughter immediately. “You did your best, Rei-chan and look at how well you did…”

Rei refused to move, Nagisa frowned at his pouting boyfriend.

“Rei-chan.” Nagisa repeated, headbutting his back. “Don’t be all pouty, it doesn’t look beautiful on you, you know!”

Rei stiffened at his words, straightening his back and adjusting his glasses at a speed that made Nagisa smirk at his choice of words.

“Well...I suppose there is nothing to be done about it.” he said firmly,pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose as the two swimmers began to exit the building and walk home.

“Still, how could I not do as well as you when I had studied so hard, I don’t understand…” he complained, a devilish grin on Nagisa’s lips.

“Oh, I might know the reason...could it be that during the test, Rei-chan’s thoughts were on..other things besides the test itself?” he said, grinning even bigger at the way Rei’s mouth hung open as he sputtered for a response.

“What- I- N-no! Of course I wasn’t thinking about dirty things-” he tried to say before Nagisa cut him off.

“Ehhh, so then was I no good then, Rei-chan? Ah, I understand now.” he sighed, turning his head away from Rei to hide his smile as he listened to the taller boy’s stuttered responses.

“NO! I didn’t mean it that way- I mean yes I thought about things, wait no- I was perfectly focused, ah, but that’s not to say I don’t think about the things we do when I’m alone...WAIT, NOW I SOUND LIKE SOME PERVERT!” he shouted, clutching his head in frustration

Two elderly women startled by Rei’s outburst stared at them as they passed, eyeing Rei with a suspicion that embarrassed the huge dork even more. 

Once they were out of earshot, Rei whispered quickly in Nagisa’s ear.

“Forget what I said earlier - what I was trying to say is, I like the things we do together very much, but I try not to let those thoughts interfere with school work” 

“Oh, I knew what you meant Rei-chan.” Nagisa said nonchalantly, waving at Rei as he shook his head in frustration. Honestly, the teasings were murder on his gullible soul, but he seemed to love them anyways. A smile tugged at the taller boy’s lips.

“Besides, if you didn’t like the things we do together then you wouldn’t moan in your cute voice the way you do when we do it, silly Rei-chan.” Nagisa giggled, skipping ahead of Rei who froze where he stood on the sidewalk. 

“Eh? Rei-chan!?” Nagisa turned to find Rei looking up at the sky with a glazed expression.

“REI-CHAN!” Nagisa shrieked when he saw Rei sink to his knees, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

“Rei-cha-”

“HOW COULD I HAVE DONE SOMETHING SO EMBARRASSING?!” Rei shrieked again, curling up into a ball on the side walk. 

“HOW COULD I?!”

“Don’t worry Rei-chan, it’s nothing to be embarrassed abou-”

“THAT’S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!” Rei said, looking up from his folded arms - even his ears were red with embarrassment. 

“AND HOW CAN YOU CALL ME CUTE WHEN _YOU’RE_ THE ONE WHO’S MUCH CUTER THAN ME!”

Rei’s eyes widened as soon as he realized the words had left his mouth. Nagisa stood there stunned, a small bit of pink covering his own cheeks before he broke out into a smile.

Squatting down, Nagisa placed the palms of his hands on his knees, tilting his head to the side as he looked down at Rei. Rei pouted, glancing up at Nagisa over his glasses as his small shadow cast over him.

“Rei-chan, I’m sorry if it embarrasses you. But to me, there isn’t another more adorable person than you in the world.” he reached out to brush his fingertips across Rei’s cheek as he averted his gaze.

“I don’t know how you can say that with such a straight face…” he mumbled, uncurling himself before standing. He was thankful no one else had been around, and was glad to be safe from more judgmental stares.

“It’s easy,” Nagisa said, watching Rei brush himself off. “I can keep a straight face because there isn’t a doubt in my mind that it's not true.”

Rei muttered in response, and Nagisa swung his arms back and forth with the pace they were walking. Making their way towards the train station, Rei glanced down at Nagisa beside him, wondering just how he could have so much faith in him.

It was incredibly illogical. Ridiculous.

Then again, he could remember when there was a time when he felt the same way about love. 

Nagisa was surprised by the feeling of Rei’s hand sliding into his own, their fingers lacing together. Smiling, he swung their joined hands in between them, relishing in the warmth of Rei’s palm.

A small gust of wind blew ruffled his bangs, the freedom of summer vacation filling his chest.

He squeezed Rei’s hand tighter. He wanted to feel like this forever.

Surely, with Rei-chan by his side, this summer feeling would be eternal.

**Author's Note:**

> Get it? Eh? Eternal? Summer? Ehhhhhhhhhh I'm awful.
> 
> Anyways, hello! This is my first Reigisa/Free! fic, so I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated! Seriously dude, dudette, whoever you are, thanks for reading. You're really rad. 
> 
> Next up is a trip to the zoo au, so if you enjoyed this I hope you'll stick around for more gay nerds! 
> 
> P.S. I was going to make the title "Getting Rei-chan Naked and Wet" but it was too misleading. Sorry.


End file.
